(a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a collapsible chair, more particularly, a collapsible rocking chair enabling a user to rest comfortably during leisure or outdoor activities.
(b) Description of the Related Art
Rocking chairs have been used for centuries as soothing furnishings in the homes of many people. The comfortable oscillating motion of a rocking chair has been a comfort to many people through the years. Rocking chairs have however fallen from favor among the general public in recent years perhaps due to several disadvantages associated with them. Rocking chairs are generally bulky and require a fair area of floor space to be useful since there must be enough room for the rockers, which generally extend laterally from the uprights. There must also be enough room provided for the body of the chair to describe an arc centered at the center of gravity point, without colliding with tables, and lamps and such. Generally, rocking chairs are bulky, and often heavy, since they must be provided with rockers sturdy enough to support the occupant""s weight and the weight of the chair throughout the arc of travel of the chair. The attachment of the legs to the rockers must also be substantial enough to withstand the repeated stress of varying weight vectors as the angle of application of weight to the joints varies through the oscillation cycles.
It has been impractical therefore to devise a rocking chair that is convertible from a standing chair to a rocking chair, and further to a collapsible chair which can be conveniently disassembled and stored for future use or carried on trips for portable enjoyment. Certainly wooden chairs would present weight and sturdiness problems which make portable wooden rocking chairs impractical. With the use of lighter-weight materials such as aluminum tubing, chairs now can be made lighter and more portable, but the problems of bulk and large required usage space have still remained.
There have been several attempts to make removable rockers for use on stationary chairs, and even for folding lawn chairs and such. U.S. Pat. No. 4,126,353 to Clough shows a conversion unit for turning a stationary chair to a rocking chair. However the attachment mechanism for the chair legs is complex, involving the use of clamps and/or screws to make a secure join. Even these mechanisms are questionable as to their long term stability, and they do not lend themselves to easy attachment and removal, as would be desired in a convertible chair assembly.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,285,543 to Clark shows a rocker attachment for a stationary folding lawn chair, however, the attachment mechanism is a set of spring clips whose stability is questionable under the repeated stress of rocking oscillations.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,807,926 to Brunn discloses a folding rocking chair which is apparently not designed to be convertible, so that the chair could be used as a stationary chair if desired, although it does appear to be collapsible.
The rockers in U.S. Pat. No. 4,079,991 to Harris apparently are meant to attach to the chair legs by either a snap fit or by attaching with ties, both of which will not be secure during repeated usage.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,486,034 to Dalke shows a rocker apparatus which attaches to a conventional chair or crib. Once again the attachment mechanism seems complex and the strength of the join may not stand up to the stress of repeated use without slippage.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,660,431 to Leach discloses a rocker conversion for lawn-type chairs in which complex bolt mechanisms are used to attach the lawn chair to rockers. The mechanisms appear not to allow quick attachment and release, and the security of the join is also uncertain.
Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 5,702,152 to Shaw, U.S. Pat. No. 5,839,781 to Knape and U.S. Pat. No. 5,833,307 to Leach all have rocker attachments which connect to conventional chairs, but which have similar disadvantages pertaining to complexity of mechanism, and/or security of join.
Any rocking chair""s comforting effects are diminished when the rocking action is not smooth or is in any way irregular. Part of the psychological benefit of the rocking chair is that the regularity of motion and smoothness of its gliding sensation must be consistent. Any xe2x80x9chitchesxe2x80x9d in its operation will be noticed and can become a source of irritation during repeated use. Thus the security and soundness of the join to the chair legs plays a major part in the quality of the chair as a whole. If there is any play in the join with any of the legs, or a rattle or squeak produced while rocking, these can seriously affect the quality of the rocker. The quality of the attachment mechanism is therefore of major importance in a rocking chair of any variety.
Additionally, most collapsible chairs that are made for use in leisure or outdoor activities are uncomfortable, and collapsible chairs may not stand straight if the ground on which they stand is not level. Further, when a user is seated on the chair, the framework may be subject to excessive extension in its direction of deployment, resulting in breakage. This results because existing collapsible chairs have no means to limit excessive extension.
Thus there is a need for a convertible rocking chair which can be collapsed to compact dimensions for travel or storage, which can function as a conventional chair, but which can also be quickly and securely converted to a rocking chair when desired, and which has a very secure and sturdy attachment mechanism.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a chair which is convertible from a conventional chair to a rocking chair.
Another object of the invention is to provide a chair which can be easily and quickly collapsed into a compact configuration for storage or transport.
And another object of the invention is to provide a chair which has an attachment mechanism which provides a secure join with the chair legs, and that allows no slippage or rattling during operation.
Briefly, one preferred embodiment of the present invention is a collapsible rocking chair, which collapses to a compact bundle, including a chair part having a number of support frame members which are pivotally connected to connecting members, and a rocking part including a pair of rocker members and shoe members which are fixed to the rocker members. The shoe members are detachably connected to the connecting members to form a locking assembly. The shoe member include a housing, a receptacle which receives the connecting member, and a retaining element including at least one rotary element which is rotatably mounted to the shoe member housing. The rotary element rotates to engage the retaining slot of the connecting member, thereby locking it in place.
A second embodiment of the present invention is a collapsible rocking chair, which collapses to a compact bundle, including a chair part having a number of support frame members which are pivotally connected to connecting members, and a rocking part including a pair of rocker members and shoe members which are fixed to the rocker members. The shoe members are detachably connected to the connecting members to form a locking assembly. The shoe members each include a housing, and a retaining element including a retaining tab and flanges, which surround a slot. The slot is configured to accept insertion of the bottom platform of the connecting member. The retaining tab is flexibly attached to the shoe housing to allow deflection as the bottom platform is being inserted into the slot, and is biased to return to an undeflected position after insertion, thereby preventing withdrawal of said bottom platform of said connecting member.
An advantage of the present invention is that the chair easily disassembles and folds to a very compact shape.
Another advantage of the invention is the attachment mechanism is very sturdy and withstands repeated usage very well.
And another advantage of the invention is the attachment mechanism attaches and detaches very quickly, and provides a join that is secure and free from rattles when used.
These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become clear to those skilled in the art in view of the description of the best presently known mode of carrying out the invention and the industrial applicability of the preferred embodiment as described herein and as illustrated in the several figures of the drawings.